Additional Standards

There are eight standards that a community agency needs to become more prepared and resilient in the event of an emergency or disaster.
There are also five additional standards that an agency can work towards once they have made progress with the initial eight standards.

Standard #1: Partner organization(s) are identified to share support/ resources in event of a disaster

The agency has identified and mapped community assets.

Plan with partner agencies regarding how to utilize respective resources to continue service of operations during times of disruptions.

Mutual Aid agreement: Written or oral agreement between and among agencies/organizations that provides a mechanism to quickly obtain emergency assistance in the form of personnel, equipment, materials, and other associated services. The primary objective is to facilitate rapid, short-term deployment of emergency support prior to, during, and/or after an incident.
Conversations have been initiated and necessary agreements are in place.

Standard #2: Local emergency service providers are familiar with staff and agency

The names and contact information of emergency providers is gathered and accessible to staff and volunteers.

Post emergency provider contact information in public places such as the lunchroom or coffee station. Emphasize calling 911 for emergencies.

Emergency Service Providers, such as the Local Office of Emergency Management, Public Health and American Red Cross, are aware of the role agency is likely to play in a response or recovery phase of a disaster or emergency.

Key agency staff have been identified to develop and maintain relationships with local emergency service providers.

Identify an agency representative who has authority to make decisions affecting that agency’s or organization’s participation in incident management activities following appropriate consultation with the leadership of that agency.

Build a relationship with your emergency providers. Invite a representative form the Fire Department to evaluate your evacuation drills and to discuss potential fire hazards at your facility. Invite a representative form the Police Department to discuss security concerns. Do something nice for your first responders to build the relationship

Procedures for communicating with local government, including providing situational assessment information are in place.

Most failures in any response efforts are due to lack of (effective or otherwise) communication.

Contact your local Office of Emergency Management to ascertain efficient communication procedures with government agencies.

Standard #3: Staff are trained on the Incident Command System (ICS)

Staff understand the organizational structure of the ICS.

What is ICS?
A standardized management tool for meeting the demands of small or large emergency or nonemergency situations. ICS represents "best practices" and has become the standard for emergency management across the country. ICS may be used for planned events, natural disasters, and acts of terrorism.

You should have one chief of operations, the person making the initial decisions, with two to three people immediately below that could act in their place if they were not available.

Assure that you have established a clear chain of command ahead of an event. In some cases, it may not be the top executive, but rather the person who is most capable of making decisions in times of crisis. Ensure that you control the amount of people reporting up and down. Keep the number of people reporting to any individual to 3-7 maximum. If you exceed 3-7 you will likely have chaos and lose control of the situation. It is also generally recommended that you enlist someone to scribe the decisions made, assignments and all manners of time of decisions, operations and completion of projects.

If organizing by ICS, agency leadership staff have taken on-line courses (FEMA ICS 100 & 200) and the ICS structure is incorporated into training and exercises.

* Leadership and Management: Describe chain of command and formal communication relationships, identify common leadership responsibilities, describe span of control and modular development and describe the use of position titles.

* Delegation of Authority and Management by Objectives: Describe scope of authority and the process by which authority is delegated. Management by objectives must be described and explained.

* Functional Areas and Positions: Identify the ICS tools to manage an incident, demonstrate the function of organizational positions within ICS and demonstrate the use of an ICS 201 form.

* Organizational Flexibility: Explain how the modular organization expands and contracts, complete a complexity analysis given a specific scenario, define the five types of incidents, and describe the importance of preparedness plans and agreements.

Geographic: What can happen as a result of the facilities location? (Ex.: Proximity to flood plains, seismic faults, dams, companies involved in hazardous material handling, major transportation routes and airports, & to nuclear power plants.)

Technological: What could result from a process or system failure? (Ex: Fire, explosion, hazardous materials incident, safety system failure, telecommunications failure, computer system failure, power failure, heating/cooling system failure, emergency notification failure.

Physical: What types of emergencies could result from the design or construction of the facility? (Ex: The physical construction of the facility, hazardous processes or byproducts, facilities for storing combustibles, layout of equipment, lighting, evaluation routes and exits, proximity of shelter areas.)

Regulatory: What emergencies or hazards are you regulated to deal with? (Ex: Consider what could happen as a result of: Prohibited access to the facility, loss of electric power, communication lines down, ruptured gas mains, water damage, smoke damage, structural damage, air or water contamination, explosion, building collapse, trapped persons, & chemical release.

Vulnerability Analysis Chart directions

Estimate the Probability: In the probability column, rate the likelihood of each emergency’s occurrence. This is a subjective consideration, but useful nonetheless. Use a simple scale of 1 to 5, with 1 as the lowest probability and 5 as the highest.

Assess the Potential Human Impact: Analyze the potential human impact of each emergency – the possibility of death or injury. Assign a rating in the Human Impact column.

Assess the Potential Property Impact: Consider the potential property for losses and damages. Consider: cost to replace, cost to set up temporary replacement & cost to repair. Assign a rating in the Property Impact column.

Assess the Potential Business Impact: Consider the potential loss of market share. Assess the impact of: business interruption, employees unable to report to work, customers unable to reach facility, company in violation of contractual agreements, imposition of fines and penalties or legal costs, interruption of critical supplies & interruption of product distribution. Assign a rating in the Business Impact column.

Assess Internal and External Resources: Assess your resources and ability to respond. For each emergency ask these questions: Do we have the needed resources and capabilities to respond? Will external resources be able to respond to us for this emergency as quickly as we may need them, or will they have other priority areas to serve? Assign a rating in the Internal and External Resources columns.

Vulnerability Analysis Chart

Type of Emergency

Probability

Human Impact

Property Impact

Business Impact

Internal Resources

External Resources

Total

1-5

1-5

1-5

1-5

1-5

1-5

1-5

Earthquake

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Flood

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Windstorm

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Tsunami

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Epidemic

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

The lower the score the better

The agency has taken action to minimize facility risks to staff and clients.

Contact the American Red Cross to have a Work Place Preparedness expert come to your business to talk with staff about disaster preparedness. Visit Seattle Red Cross

Create a task list and timeline to manage the steps towards mitigating hazards and protecting the well being of your staff, volunteers and clients.

Standard #5: Facility and staff are prepared for an evacuation

Evacuation routes and exit signs are clearly marked and posted throughout the facility.

Make sure your workplace has a building evacuation plan that is regularly practiced.

Staff and volunteers are familiar with the evacuation protocols and know where to rally after evacuating the facility.

During evacuation drills be sure your staff and volunteers actually meet at the designated location.

Assign a staff person the responsibility of taking a head count to ensure all staff, volunteers and program participants have exited.